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The ReporterThu, 24 May 2018 12:38:14 -070060KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - More than $8 million was awarded Wednesday to a woman who alleged that the spiritual leader of a cult forced her to work without pay for a decade.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree of Kansas wrote in the order that Royall Jenkins and his organization, The Value Creators, exploited Kendra Ross' vulnerability, "knowing that she was unfamiliar with the world outside the cult, had received no standard education, was constantly moved from place to place, and had no money.

]]>Wed, 23 May 2018 16:27:57 -0700201805231627572018-05-23T16:27:57-07:002018-05-23T16:27:57-07:00PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence says no men have applied for its seminary program in the fall.

The Rev. Chris Murphy tells WPRI-TV it's rare that there are no new applicants to Our Lady of Providence Seminary. Between two and six men have entered the seminary each fall over the past five years.

]]>Wed, 23 May 2018 14:27:56 -0700201805231427562018-05-23T14:27:56-07:002018-05-23T14:27:56-07:00PHOENIX (AP) - The Arizona Department of Education is considering changes to school science standards, including instances when it may remove or alter references to evolution. The state's superintendent of public instruction said the proposed changes reflect that parts of evolution are only theory.]]>Wed, 23 May 2018 13:42:56 -0700201805231342562018-05-23T13:42:56-07:002018-05-23T13:42:56-07:00JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The Latest on a lawsuit by Muslim inmates against Alaska corrections officials (all times local):

11:05 a.m.

An Alaska corrections department spokeswoman says the department is doing its best to accommodate Muslim inmates during Ramadan.

Megan Edge, in a statement, says the department cannot comment on specific litigation.

]]>Wed, 23 May 2018 12:12:56 -0700201805231212562018-05-23T12:12:56-07:002018-05-23T12:12:56-07:00JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Muslim inmates are suing state corrections officials, arguing that officials at an Alaska jail are providing them with inadequate nourishment as they break their daily fasts during Ramadan.

The lawsuit was filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations Legal Defense Fund.

]]>Wed, 23 May 2018 10:07:57 -0700201805231007572018-05-23T10:07:57-07:002018-05-23T10:07:57-07:00LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Opponents of a Ten Commandments display at the Arkansas state Capitol are suing to have the monument removed, arguing it's an unconstitutional endorsement of religion by government.

Separate lawsuits were filed in federal court Wednesday challenging the display, which was installed on the Capitol grounds last month.

]]>Wed, 23 May 2018 08:17:57 -0700201805230817572018-05-23T08:17:57-07:002018-05-23T08:17:57-07:00FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - A prominent Southern Baptist Convention leader has been removed as president of a Texas seminary following allegations that he made abusive and demeaning comments to women.

The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary board of trustees said in a statement that 75-year-old Paige Patterson was removed Wednesday following a 13-hour meeting.

]]>Wed, 23 May 2018 05:17:57 -0700201805230517572018-05-23T05:17:57-07:002018-05-23T05:17:57-07:00NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Two Boston men who were attacked and robbed in New Orleans' French Quarter one night during a Unitarian convention asked a judge to show leniency to their attackers.

The judge handed out prison sentences, but not the maximum.

NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune reports that victims Tim Byrne and James Curran made the plea in letters read aloud Tuesday in court by a prosecutor.

]]>Wed, 23 May 2018 03:17:57 -0700201805230317572018-05-23T03:17:57-07:002018-05-23T03:17:57-07:00SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Mormon church is pulling 169 missionaries from Nicaragua because of growing political instability in the Central American country.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' spokesman Daniel Woodruff said Tuesday that most of these missionaries will be reassigned to other countries while some will finish their missions early.

]]>Tue, 22 May 2018 13:37:45 -0700201805221337452018-05-22T13:37:45-07:002018-05-22T13:37:45-07:00PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) - The associate pastor of a church in Palo Alto has resigned after criticizing the affluent Silicon Valley city on Twitter as elitist and a "den of hate."

The San Francisco Chronicle reports Monday that Rev. Gregory Stevens resigned from the First Baptist Church of Palo Alto a week after his tweets were discussed at a city council meeting.

]]>Mon, 21 May 2018 07:43:56 -0700201805210743562018-05-21T07:43:56-07:002018-05-21T07:43:56-07:00TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer signed legislation Friday granting legal protections to faith-based adoption agencies that cite their religious beliefs for not placing children in LGBT homes, an action that quickly became an issue as he runs this year to keep his office.

The Republican governor signed the measure during a ceremony at a Christian boys' home outside Wichita, surrounded by supporters who view it as a religious-freedom measure.

]]>Fri, 18 May 2018 15:05:36 -0700201805181505362018-05-18T15:05:36-07:002018-05-18T15:05:36-07:00AMHERST, Mass. (AP) - A man living in a Massachusetts church as he tries to avoid deportation to his native Guatemala was forced to leave the sanctuary for the first time in months to have his appendix removed.

After the emergency procedure, supporters of Lucio Perez escorted him back to First Congregational Church in Amherst on Thursday.

]]>Fri, 18 May 2018 05:20:36 -0700201805180520362018-05-18T05:20:36-07:002018-05-18T05:20:36-07:00FARGO, N.D. (AP) - A Roman Catholic priest accused of molesting two boys in North Dakota in the 1990s has pleaded guilty to two counts of felony gross sexual imposition.

Court documents show that Fernando Sayasaya entered the pleas Thursday during a scheduling conference. He's accused of abusing two underage siblings from 1995 to 1998, while he was assigned to the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church and St.

]]>Thu, 17 May 2018 17:20:02 -0700201805171720022018-05-17T17:20:02-07:002018-05-17T17:20:02-07:00A church with a minuscule stake in Pennsylvania's largest natural gas driller has won shareholder approval of a resolution to force the company to produce a report on its effort to scale back methane emissions.